Today, the development of components represents new demands on the producing industry. The increasing time and cost pressure can be confronted in that new methods, such as rapid prototyping and rapid tooling are used.
A method (Object) is thus known, for example, where a polymeric material, which can be hardened, is applied in the form of liquid droplets onto a vertically displaceable build platform or workpiece platform selectively within a contour of the corresponding cross section of the desired object by means of a displaceable dispensing device and is hardened by means of UV radiation. The desired component is created layer by layer by means of repeated application. The object is subsequently removed from the build platform.
In the case of another method, a layer of a free-flowing particulate material is settled in an area on a build table. A binder material in the form of liquid droplets is then applied onto the layer of particulate material in a selected partial area by means of a displaceable dispensing device. Binder material and particulate material form a solidified structure. Further layers are in each case formed by repeating the afore-mentioned steps. The solidified structure is then separated from non-solidified portions of the particulate material.
Different devices are known to carry out such so-called rapid prototyping methods, which are known from the state of the art.
A typical embodiment of a device according to DE0010047614, e.g., consists of a welded tube frame supporting adapted guide tracks. Such frames are joined from a plurality of elements and are set up extensively. Due to the fact that the joining areas are located around the frame parts, the component parts must be fully machined all around. The casing is then hung on the completely mounted device and thereby does not have any supporting function.
A very simple device, which substantially consists of profiled sheet metal parts, to which simple rod guides are screwed directly, is known from WO20030160667. At any rate, this embodiment has limitations with reference to the device accuracy and is thus only suitable for smaller device dimensions, because the guide deviations do not stand out so much in that case. However, it has proven to be disadvantageous in the case of all of the devices known from the state of the art and from practice that the mounting and adjusting of the system is time-intensive and expensive.